The Cooperation Council needs to focus on speeding up implementation of the ENP Action Plan, the EU - Azerbaijan Cooperation Council says in its statement on Tuesday.
The Cooperation Council held its eleventh meeting. The European Union was represented by Zsolt Németh, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Hungary (Chair of the Cooperation Council meeting) and Štefan Füle, Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy. The Azerbaijani delegation was led by Mahmud Mammad-Guliyev, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus, Ambassador Peter Semneby, also took part in the meeting.
The parties discussed the implementation of the EU-Azerbaijan European Neighbourhood Policy Action Plan and issues related to enhancing EU-Azerbaijan relations, including Azerbaijan`s WTO Accession.
The EU recalled the importance of continuing progress in democracy, rule of law and human rights, in view of the deepening of bilateral relations between the EU and Azerbaijan in the framework of the Eastern Partnership. The EU reaffirmed its readiness to continue its support for the further development of democratic institutions in Azerbaijan.
The Cooperation Council discussed EU-Azerbaijan cooperation in the energy sector and agreed on the need to further implement the EU-Azerbaijan Memorandum of Understanding on energy signed in November 2006.
The Cooperation Council also explored the state of play concerning the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The EU expressed appreciation for the ongoing dialogue between Armenia and Azerbaijan and welcomed the recent statement by the Heads of Delegation of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair Countries and the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia at the OSCE Summit in Astana.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the United States - are currently holding the peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding regions.
Relations between the EU and Azerbaijan are being carried out under the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement which was signed in 1996 and came into force in 1999.